The most-played match in the history of the European Championships and World Cups, Spain vs Italy, will take place on Thursday evening at the AufSchalke Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
This upcoming match will mark the 11th meeting between Spain and Italy in these tournaments, with eight encounters in the Euros and three in the World Cup.
Additionally, EURO 2024 will be the fifth consecutive edition where they will face each other, setting a new record.
For those interested in statistics, Italy has only been defeated once in their 10 matches against Spain in the European Championships and the World Cup, which was in the EURO 2012 final (4-0), excluding the penalty shootout in 2008.
Looking at all competitions, Spain has won their last two encounters against Italy in the Nations League. They have never achieved three consecutive victories against the Azzurri.
Changes on the bench
Since their last meeting on July 6th, 2021, which ended in a 1-1 draw at Wembley in the semi-final of last year’s European Championships where Italy advanced through a penalty shootout, both national teams have appointed new coaches.
La Roja chose Luis de la Fuente, who has guided the Spanish national Under-18, Under-19, Under-21, and Olympic teams over the past decade, securing numerous achievements.
Spain Coach Luis de la Fuente
On the other hand, Italy went with Luciano Spalletti, the coach who achieved the Scudetto with Napoli.
Spain on a new course
Following a disappointing exit against Morocco in the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar, Spain swiftly recovered in the EURO 2024 qualifiers.
They topped their group with seven victories and just one loss, scoring 25 goals and conceding five. This accomplishment placed them ahead of Scotland and Norway in the standings.
Under the new coach De la Fuente, a strong emphasis was placed on generational change, a transition that had been set in motion by Luis Enrique. Leveraging his familiarity with talents he had previously coached, De la Fuente swiftly instilled confidence in emerging young players like Lamine Yamal.
Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Dani Carvajal and Fabian Ruiz
The Spanish coach has tried to find the right balance between the more experienced and younger players.
Rodri serves as the team’s pivotal figure and driving force, while Alvaro Morata holds the captaincy.
Morata’s goal against Croatia makes his European Championships goal tally to seven, placing him as the joint third-highest scorer in the tournament’s history alongside Antoine Griezmann and Alan Shearer. He trails behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (14 goals) and Michel Platini (nine goals).
The transformation of Spain’s trajectory is encapsulated by the third goal against Croatia. Dani Carvajal, at 32 years and 156 days, became the ‘oldest’ player to score for Spain at the European Championship, with an assist from Lamine Yamal.
Yamal, aged 16 years and 338 days, made history as the youngest player to feature in a match and provide an assist in the competition.
In a curious turn of events, Spain managed to secure a 3-0 triumph over Croatia despite having less ball possession than their opponents (47%). This marked the first instance of such an occurrence in an official match since the EURO 2008 final against Germany, where they had only 46% possession.
This outcome halted a streak of 136 consecutive matches where Spain had enjoyed the majority of possession.
Reigning champions Italy
Italy (The Azzurri) Euro 2020 Champions
Expectations were high for the opening match of the reigning champions Italy at the tournament. Despite a surprising setback with a goal conceded just 23 seconds into the game, the Azzurri displayed a remarkable response.
Albania’s goal set a new record as the fastest ever scored by a national team in the history of the European Championships. Additionally, it marked the quickest goal conceded by the Azzurri between the European Championships and the World Cup.
